---
title: For player issues, there can be a number of causes.
description: For player issues, there can be a number of causes.
---

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# For player issues, there can be a number of causes.

## First, always make sure to identify if anything has recently changed (e.g. a new video file that may be encoded badly or a new plugin). Then, check to see if you have the latest version of the Editor and Player.

Remember, the Editor and Player versions must match too, especially when using plugins like **Widgets or Transitions** - If you have updated the **Editor** and not yet updated the **player**, you may find the player doesn't start up long enough for you to push a player update with the content push if a plugin is being used early in the playlist, in which case, simply connect to the player, exit the software then use the player installer on the computer OR browse to the folder on the player with the project.

**(typically C:\\program data\\acquire\\\[long folder name made up of upper case letters and numbers\])**

then browse to the folder.

**\[media\\always send\\playlistdata\\transitions\]**

and delete any **DLL** files in there.

Delete any **DLLs** in the folder **\[media\\always send\\playlistdata\\widgets\]** too and restart the player.

Any widgets will be disabled.

Review the **Log Files** - the player will log what it is doing and at the bottom of the latest log file is where you will see what it was doing before it exited. Check for e.g. **DirectX errors** (this is typically the graphics card driver or other drivers failing - do a web search for the Direct error code listed to help with troubleshooting the issue, although if the equipment is not new, it can also be caused by a physical hardware issue, so check with the supplier once you have tried the suggested DirectX software resolutions).

**Example:**

 ![](https://knowledge.acquiredigital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-29-2026-09-44-14-3447-AM.png?width=512&height=101&name=image-png-Sep-29-2026-09-44-14-3447-AM.png) 

You can enable the player's **Engineer Mode** by pressing the **F8 key** on the keyboard (you may need to click on the display using the mouse first). This will invoke the **Engineer screen**, where you can try enabling/disabling different video decoding features.

![](https://knowledge.acquiredigital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-29-2026-03-40-06-8736-PM.png?width=404&height=302&name=image-png-Sep-29-2026-03-40-06-8736-PM.png)

You can also enable **full logging** (this records more information in the logs to help identify any issues, but should not be left enabled for normal operation as it will slow down the playout slightly), force hardware or software decoding of video content, and even induce the 'Preview Window' as seen in the editor which shows you the current status of the playlist and allows you to skip content.

![](https://knowledge.acquiredigital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Sep-29-2026-03-43-02-5333-PM.png?width=278&height=38&name=image-png-Sep-29-2026-03-43-02-5333-PM.png)

You may wish to try recovering the player whilst you work on it. To do this, try switching playlist using the **Event Mode** of the Acquire Studio Editor. If the player quits before you are able to do this and it is due to the content in the currently active playlist, try changing the playlist to the default one by exiting the player **(use the watchdog password as above)** and then browse to the **project folder\\media\\never send folder** and delete the lastplaylist file you find.

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